Gone – Fountain of the Pioneers Removed from Bronson Park in Kalamazoo

The removal happened on Tuesday April 24, 2018, a few weeks after the Kalamazoo City Commission voted to remove the sculpture in the city's signature downtown green space. Fountain of the Pioneers has long been a touchstone of controversy for its deception of a Native American and European American settler.

The fountain dates back to the decade following the Civil War:

Some of the fountain and structure in Bronson Park dates back to 1879 according to records from the Kalamazoo Public Library. In 1936, the Kalamazoo Business and Professional Women’s Club created a design competition to replace McColl Fountain which had become unpopular. Twenty-two contestants from nine states submitted designs. A jury of Kalamazoo area art and education officials convened and artist and instructor Marcelline Gougler from Chicago took the $250 top prize for her designs.